I started attending Galen in the 2016 fall semester and throughout that semester, I had to use the skills I acquired from high school in order to adjust to life as a tertiary level student. More specifically, a Galen eagle. Within the first year, I had many expectations set for myself and I wanted to achieve each and every one of them. However, reality has a way of knocking all that to the ground at times.

For me, life can sometimes become very strenuous and stressful but even so, I have always made my work and educational responsibilities a top priority. However, I have learned that the problems lie when I let anything, even school, take priority over my wellbeing and my relationships with others. Although there may be mixed opinions about which takes the upper hand and which does not, I have learned that balance is an important factor in order for me to function to the best of my ability or else, all hell can break loose.

Okay, so that may be over exaggerating a bit, but if I am being completely honest with you, my fellow eagles, when my holistic wellbeing and the people I care about are not receiving the time and attention they are due, it creates a hindrance within every other area and a huge roadblock in my educational success.

There are many of you who say that you struggle with time management: managing time for study, assignments, work, health, and even family. You say you struggle to find the time to complete all that you want to and not just complete them but to succeed at them. Personally, I am still trying to get headway and discover how exactly to master time, if such a thing exists, yet I have not let any of that permit me from missing deadlines or investing my time on a course. Words like willpower, determination or even simple hard-headedness I have been described as having, but for me, it is all about positioning myself to achieve the success that I want. See I do believe that you can achieve the outcome you imagine for yourself once you do your limitations and opportunities justice. By this, I mean applying simple life skills without giving yourself the outlet to create excuses about what you are incapable of. In fact, when I feel like I am not capable of fulfilling what is put out in front of me, it gives me an even greater reason to figure out how to do it. Evidently, it is in those moments that I began to grow as an individual and as a student.

In my opinion, balancing your time is not a standard step-by-step process, and doing so differs based on every [unique] individual. For example, I can find success in completing one task using a certain setup or plan but may not always be able to use the same structure for another. So I will have to go back to the drawing board a couple of times. For me, this is the most effective way to think about the process; to acknowledge the flaws and embrace the bumps in the road.

Even as I was about to start working on this article I was sidetracked by the due date for a paper set for a day earlier than I had presumed. But what gave me ease was knowing that all my other assignments that required less time were already completed. I only had one other assignment pending apart from that paper.

So, whether you believe me or not, and before you choose to agree or disagree with me, I challenge you eagles to put my words to the test. Take it from the words of Alida Sharp, “We either choose one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”

I hope you enjoyed my article and got a better idea of who I am and who you can be.

Written by Jennie Moguel ( International Business Major)